On September 20, 2007, in Jena, a small town in Louisiana, USA, 20,000 demonstrators marched to protest against racial discrimination. At about the same time in New York and Washington, hundreds of people responded to the anti-discrimination campaign in Jena. The scene of large-scale black demonstrations in the United States in the 1960s will reappear today. The American song and dance movies "Dreamgirls" (2006) and "Hairspray" (Love Outburst) (2007) take care of the views of blacks and speak for blacks, which are very compatible with the reality of American society.
About 26 years ago, I watched a stage performance of "Dreamgirls" in the United States. Back then, the productions used luxurious singing and dancing as a selling point. There would be mentions of blacks being exploited by whites. Unexpectedly, the 2006 movie version turned the situation in the American entertainment industry in the 1960s into a conflict of plot by whites oppressing blacks. When I watched the movie "Dreamgirls", I felt that American movies had changed. After that, when I watched the movie "Hairspray", I saw scenes of black demonstrations and protests in the show. I deeply feel that this is the trend that continues today's American music and dance movies closely following the social situation. .
Of course, the content of all the songs and dances is light and flirty, and even the scenes of large-scale black demonstrations are just another song and dance. However, having such a demonstration, singing and dancing is also of social significance and increases the weight of the plot content. On the other hand, a large number of young black men and women have a lot of opportunities to perform in this film. For example, there are many student detention scenes in the play, and the black students are allowed to perform singing and dancing. Not only that, but the story also mentions black people from time to time. There is a talent for singing and dancing, it is worth the TV station to specially arrange a Negro Day (Black Song and Dance Day) out. The film's author with such a mentality is obviously to attract a new audience.
"Hairspray" is a musical with middle school students as the protagonist. It is the strength of American musicals. The previous masterpiece can be counted as "Grease", and today there is also a menacing "High School Musical". There are very few such works in British musicals, so the brilliant songs and dances of American middle school students are especially worthy of appreciation. Sure enough, this American song and dance production has once again triumphed. In the film, the cute fat girl Nikki Blonsky plays that role, and she is very lively. I believe she can be named in the song and dance works. Just watching the singing and dancing performances and funny expressions of this fat girl, you know that the people behind the scenes have spent countless efforts. The young actor in the film is today's girl idol Zac Efron. He became popular in the TV "High School Musical". This time he is also competent in filming, and he is better than the same type of powder niche in the past. Other famous actors (Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken) are also competent, but John Travolta reverses the role of Fat Mom. There is no singing and dancing performances. Unfortunately, his reverse is a commercial gimmick rather than a need for performance.
Director Adam Shankman is a choreographer. Dancers shoot the dance scenes. Of course, they focus more on the dance itself, like a TV lens recording dance performances. As for the lens and picture structure and organization, there is no breakthrough arrangement, just smooth and stable. The songs and dances in this movie are not as brilliant as "Dreamgirls", but they are still beautiful and worth watching. (over)
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